Makin' the Rounds

Round 1...Christmas with Dad

(click HERE to see more pics with Dad)

We had a fun time celebrating Christmas with my Dad and his family. I think I'm entering the phase of apologizing for my kids breaking something everytime we go somewhere. It started at my Dad's house when Mary Kate broke a Christmas Angel. We missed Stephanie and Prince Joe this year, but Dad was sure to call her on speaker as we sat down to eat.

Round 2...Christmas with Moma and Rebecca(click HERE to see more pics at Mom's house)

Celebrating Christmas with Mom was a little different this year. Rebecca wasn't going to be here for Christmas since she was spending it with Ethan's family. For the first time since we've gotten married, there was going to be room for us at Joel's parents to stay (sadly, that's because Anna and her family couldn't make it home from New Zealand--we missed y'all). So, that meant that it would be the first Christmas that I didn't wake up to Santa with my Mom. I was excited about spending time with Joel's family, but having a hard time dealing with change (as usual). Since Stephanie wasn't coming home either, Moma decided to go to Bolton to spend Christmas with her parents, which was a special treat for them. It all ended up fine, but took a little getting used to. Rebecca was able to come down for a few days before Christmas, so we got to celebrate with her. We all went to see lights one night. One house totally blew my mind. There's a few pictures in the album above, but they don't do it justice. We celebrated Christmas with my Mom before she left for Mississippi, which included lunch at Shogun. Mom liked the idea of not having to cook or clean up Christmas dinner. Mary Kate was super excited about her trunk filled with princess clothes. She immediately put a wedding dress on and has pretty much kept it on since.

Round 3...Christmas Day with the Kennedys

(click HERE to see the Kennedy album)

Christmas was lots of fun at the Kennedys. On Christmas Eve, MK all of a sudden "got" that Santa was coming to see her. Joel helped her get some milk and cookies ready, which seemed to disappear pretty quickly. It was fun watching them open their stockings and presents on Christmas morning. Nonna cooked us some great food while all of the guys fried the 18 pound turkey. One of my favorite Kennedy Christmas traditions is having a birthday party for Jesus. Mary Kate and Ford were happy to get some play time with their Aunt Rachel, and it was great having Grandma and Grandpa there to celebrate with us as well.

After Christmas with all of our families, we are a bit overwhelmed at how good they are to us. We certainly don't do anything to deserve such generosity, which reminds me of the gift of Jesus and the grace that He offers us.

Round 4...Time in Bolton

(click HERE to see Bolton album)

The day after Christmas, we headed to Bolton, MS to meet up with my mom and get some time with my grandparents. It was so fun watching the kids with Nana and Grandaddy. Again, we didn't leave there without something getting broken. This time, Ford knocked over a table and broke several things. Nana was real calm about it, but I felt awful. One of my Grandaddy's calves was having to be bottle-fed, so Mary Kate and Ford got to go watch. MK really didn't want anything to do with the calf, but she had fun chasing all of the cows. It was fun being out at the "Lancaster Place." It took me back to childhood memories of wiener roasts, fishing, ghost stories, and playing in the woods with my cousins. My cousin, Chad, is in the Air Force and left for a deployment in Cypress after Christmas. His family came to Mississippi to be with family while he's gone, so it was fun to see them.

Goodbye Corolla

(a pic of Joel and Steebo with the Corolla on their way to see the Dawgs play)

We said goodbye to the Corolla last night. It's been a good car to us...and Joel's parents...and Joel's grandparents! There was certainly nothing cool about the Corolla...but, I got a warm, fuzzy feeling every time I looked at it because it reminded me of the huge sacrifice that Joel made so that I could stay at home when we had Mary Kate. Joel's first car at 16 was an '87 Green Chevy S10. When he got it, my house was his first stop and he took me for a ride. He continued to drive the S10 for the next 10 years. His college buddies affectionately called it the death trap. I guess, any time you let someone borrow your truck and you have to send a pair of pliers along with it, that's not a good sign. I really didn't think that truck was going to survive our engagement since it broke down 2 or 3 times burning up the road between Athens/Gwinnett and Knoxville, but it did. After my first year of teaching, and when we actually had some money in the bank (man, I wish we knew how rich we were then...before kids), Joel bought a gorgeous 4 door F150.The original owner of the S10 actually wanted it back since it was where he kissed his wife for the first time...so sweet. Joel loved his F150, but when Mary Kate came along he put it up for sale so that I could quit teaching and stay at home with our precious little girl (Thanks Joel. I love you). It took quite a while for it to sell, but a dear friend of ours from Griffin ended up buying it (I think it was more as a favor to us than because he really wanted it, but we were thankful). We actually sold our car and our house all in the same day. Joel's parents generously gave us the Corolla to have as a second car. That car was good to us, if we were good to her. We had to let her warm up for about 15 minutes every morning to get her in the right mood. Now, we hope that she'll be good to her new owners. The reason that we were able to part with her is quite a testiment of the Lord's provision. As we near the day that we celebrate the birth of Jesus, I am humbled at the ways that God still shouts out that He loves us and delights in us.

We found Santa in Charleston

We had a fun weekend in Charleston visiting Aunt Stessi and Prince Joe. It was neat seeing Charleston at Christmas time. We went to the James Island park to see the Festival of Lights. Mary Kate was so excited to ride the carousel there and see Ho Ho. Ford finally got to meet Santa and get a picture. I wish that they'd had their cute Christmas outfits on at the time, but I'll take what I can get. We had fun going through the Farmer's Market downtown and walking down King Street. Of course, we went to see the train at Charleston Place. MK loved getting time with her Prince, but didn't like it one bit if Aunt Stessi tried to hug him or kiss him.

Saaaaaanta....Where arrrrrrre Youuuu?

The last three times that my mom or I have tried to take the kids to see Santa, he hasn't been there. Today, I met the Ashleys at Bass Pro to try to track down that Santa, but we didn't realize that he only came at certain times. We missed out on a picture with Santa, but the kids still had a blast playing on boats, racing race cars, watching the train, riding on four wheelers, and watching the fish. Mary Kate and Naomi had on similar outfits, which made for some cute pictures.

Nathan, Naomi, and Mary Kate

Just a funny quote

So, the other day Joel was getting MK in the car in a parking lot. A car started backing up and he didn't see MK. When he got her he said, "You scared the poop out of me!" Then, she said "Where's the poop?" She continued to look for it and kept asking him where it was. I died laughing!